Recovery
of wastes
Recycling
is perhaps the
most widely recognised
form of source reduction
involving the pr ocess of separating, collecting,
processing , marketing and ultimately using a material that would
have otherwise been discarded. This form of source reduction, i.e., recyclin g,
is similar to other forms, in that it:
ü lessens
reliance on landfills and incinerators;
ü protects
human health and the environment by removing harmful s ubstances from the waste
stream;
ü conserves
natural resources by reducing the demand for raw materials .
Recycling is o ne of the
fundamental parts of the waste
management plan. Although it alone
cannot solve a community's municipal SWM pro blem, it can divert a
significant portio n of waste
stream from disposal in landfill
and combustion facilities. Recycling has a lot of direct and indirect
significance f or the society, and this can be grouped under the following
three broad areas.
(i)
Economic significance:
Economic assessment of waste recycling
is a difficult task as many
of the beneficial
environmental and social impacts of recyc ling are long- term and are
intangible, and, therefore, are difficult to quantify.
Some of the short- and
lon g-term economic benefits are:
Cost
reduction: Resource
recovery through recycling of
solid waste could be of interest to
waste manag ement authorities as a means of reducing the w aste disposal cost.
Any saving in waste management cost could be a significant incentive to the authorities
to increase the coverage of service areas and improve the service level. They
can save cost from
fuel fo r transportation, operation and maintenance, and generate revenue by sale of recyclables , etc.
Employment: Recycling of waste is a labour
intensive activity, and
its potential to ease the
unemployment problem is high.
Enhanced recycl ing activities,
for example, can
create an additional
job market for skilled and unskilled workforce, and they can adapt to
any of the occupations such as a labourer in recycling business or
industry or a dealership. Energy saving:
Use of r ecyclables in some industrial processes is known to consume less
energy than the use of any other raw material. The reduction in energy consumption in one
industry could mean its availability for some other indus try in need.
Reduced
health care costs:
Improved health and
sanitary conditions in urban areas resulting from indirect benefits of
waste recycling can reduce t he investment in public health programme.
Saving
costs for other
public utilities: Enhanced solid Waste recycling practices can
redu ce the frequency of
sewer clogging, blocking of
natural watercourses and pollution of water bod ies. This will benefit the concerned public utilities
through reduce d cost in cleaning sewers and improved public safety due to
blocked sewers and narrowing of natural watercourses.
(ii)
Environmental and he alth significance: The volume of waste is
increasing rapidly because of populatio n
growth and economic
development. The composition Of
waste is also changing, leading to waste
production with more recyclables. At the same time, polluted waste fraction s
are increasing because of increasing complex processes being used in
industries, and these contribute
increasingly to e nvironmental degradation. This notwithstan ding,
recycling helps, among others, in the following ways, to facilitate effective
waste management: be due to
Improved en vironment: The
environmental pollution may inadequate SWM as well as due to its effect on other urban infrastructure.
Recycling reduces the volu me of waste
that has to be finally dumped, and thereby causing
reduction in pollutio n at the waste
disposal sites. When there is reduction in volume of waste because
of i ts increased reuse, different types of pollution (e .g., water, air and
land) will get abated.
Natural resource conservation: Industries
with natural pro ducts as their raw
material for production
are depleting natural resources.
Use of more and more recyclable solid wastes in industrial production will
relieve the tremendous pressure on these precious resources. For example, recycling of waste paper means a
lower demand for wood, which means less cutting of trees and an enhanced
possibility for sustainable use of the
forest. Using recyclable items in the production process
would reduce the demand for energy as well.
(iii) Social significance: People
engaged in waste
collection a ctivities are normally of low social and e conomic
standing. This is especially true wit h scavengers, which
is evident from
persisting poor quality
of their living
and working conditions. Different
groups of people engaged
in waste recycling have a
hierarchical social and economic status,
in which, processors are at the top of
the hierarchy followed by waste
dealers and wholesalers,
waste buyers and
waste collectors in that
very order, while scavengers are
at the bottom.
Although there is this
social and economic
hierarchy within the waste
recycling business, the overall social esteem of waste recycling operators is low.
A formal
recycling arrangement will
help promote the
social esteem of waste workers and facilitate their upward social mobility due to increased earning.
In addition, the improved recycling activity will increase the economic
value of the waste and will reduce waste scavenging activity providing opportunity
for scavengers to switch to a more socially acceptable occupation.
In short, institutionalised recycling programmes will help
remove the stigma associated with
waste scavenging and transform it to an
economic enterprise.
Related Topics
Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, DMCA Policy and Compliant
Copyright © 2018-2023 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai.